Spain, San Sebastián
Griezmann, who had no match tonight, was on a whim watching the Ligue 1 top-of-the-table clash.
Normally he didn't watch, because French football held some unpleasant memories for him.
There was a feeling of being abandoned.
Mainly because Griezmann's initial dream was to start in France, but in his youth, he was repeatedly rejected at French trials.
Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon, Auxerre, and over ten other Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs' youth academies all rejected him for being too thin, too short, too small.
When Griezmann was about to give up on becoming a professional player, an important turning point appeared.
His father knew a friend playing in Spain's Basque region, and through this friend's connection, in 2005, the 14-year-old Griezmann got a chance to trial at Real Sociedad's youth academy.
Although still facing doubts about his small stature, Griezmann's technical talent, ball sense, vision, and goal-scoring instinct displayed during the trial convinced Real Sociedad's youth coaches.
They saw an ability to handle the ball in tight spaces and a unique football intelligence.
So...
Real Sociedad officially signed him into the club's famous Zubieta youth training base.
He was placed with a host family, but due to language barriers and differences in climate and culture, the first few years at Zubieta weren't easy for Griezmann.
He was very homesick and once considered quitting. But his family's encouragement, especially his sister's unwavering support, kept him going.
Therefore...
Watching Julien complete his hat-trick and celebrate with his family...
Griezmann couldn't help but smile. Family was always the foundation.
And Julien made Griezmann envious. Though three years older, Griezmann was still only playing for the national youth team, while Julien had already become a core player for the senior national team.
Thinking about this...
Griezmann felt grateful toward Julien. If not for his advice, he might currently be serving a suspension for that late-night outing incident.
At the same time...
He wondered whether Julien would come play in Spain. After Julien led Bastia to beat Atlético Madrid in both legs, Julien's name had become quite popular in Spain.
Multiple media outlets claimed that Julien had entered the sights of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid, preparing to bring him from France to the Iberian Peninsula.
Griezmann recalled the only time they were teammates, remembering their coordination, and felt an impulse to be Julien's teammate.
Looking at the faces of De Bruyne and others on the TV screen, Griezmann sighed and thought, 'Playing with him must be easy, right?'
"Anthony, is that Julien?"
Just as Griezmann was lost in thought, someone entered the team dormitory. Griezmann turned to see his roommate, Carlos Vela.
"Hey, it's Antoine." Griezmann smiled, correcting him. His name was Antoine, pronounced in French as "Antoine," but Vela, being from Mexico, preferred calling him Anthony.
Griezmann then nodded.
Vela pressed, "So he's the one Real Madrid wants? Nice! The score is 0-3—how many did Julien score?"
"Three!"
Griezmann became energetic talking about Julien. "And tonight is only his 18th birthday. He completed a hat-trick!
You probably don't usually watch Ligue 1, so you don't know—Julien's team Bastia is currently ranked second in Ligue 1. Their opponent tonight, Marseille, was ranked first. And Julien just destroyed them with three goals!"
Vela's face showed disbelief, his expression seeming to say, That impressive?
Griezmann continued, "You don't understand in Spain—right now in France, Julien is the future of French football in fans' hearts. You know how strong Spain's national team is, right?
Three consecutive major tournament wins. But in the last World Cup qualifier, Julien led France to a draw with Spain. If not for a questionable call at the end, France could have won."
Now Vela couldn't hold back. Spain's strength was well known.
"No wonder the news says Real Madrid is interested in Julien."
Once Griezmann started talking about Julien, he had plenty to say, and Vela happily listened.
Soon, the door opened again. The team's starting center-back, Iñigo Martínez, and goalkeeper Bravo walked in. "What are you talking about so happily?"
Then Griezmann told his teammates all about Julien again.
"That impressive?"
"I know him. If only our Real Sociedad could buy him! Antoine, you should convince him to come to Real Sociedad."
Several people chatted.
They also kept exclaiming at the TV footage, because no matter how much Griezmann talked, it wasn't as good as watching Julien play firsthand.
"His footwork is too strong. Iñigo, are you confident you could defend him?" Vela asked.
Iñigo thought seriously, then grimaced and shook his head. "Actually, no. His feet are too quick."
Vela didn't continue asking. He watched Julien's movements, trying to learn something.
He also thought about watching more of Julien's highlight reels later to learn some techniques.
Following the conversation about Julien, they also discussed transfers.
Everyone wondered where Julien might go.
Vela asked Griezmann, "Could he possibly go to Arsenal? After all, you French all like going to Wenger, right? He's interested in you too, isn't he? Would you go to Arsenal?"
Griezmann shook his head. "I don't know about Julien, but I won't go to Arsenal. The club's asking price won't drop, and Arsenal won't pay that much for me."
Vela nodded. "That's true. The team can't do without you right now, so they definitely won't let you go easily. They will ask for at least thirty million euros—Arsenal definitely won't pay that."
As they chatted, the match quickly ended.
Julien had already been substituted in the 74th minute. A single-match hat-trick was spectacular enough.
When the final whistle blew, the entire Vélodrome Stadium had long since fallen silent.
Using "library" to describe it wouldn't be wrong.
Crushing defeat.
That was the only thought in Marseille fans' minds.
Bastia players celebrated wildly.
The TF1 commentator also said at this moment, "Congratulations to Bastia for successfully reaching the top!"
"Also, congratulations to Julien De Rocca—12 matches, 20 goals, continuing to lead the Ligue 1 scoring chart. This newly-turned-eighteen Bastia winger is becoming a phenomenon-level young player in France."
This was destined to be Bastia's night.
This time, it was truly reaching the summit.
No longer temporary.
They didn't need to wait for other matches to finish, they were already number one!
Bastia's history was rewritten once again.
At the Sunset Coffee Bar, a fan shouted, "From now on, when you open Bastia's football history book, entire pages will be written with Julien's name!"
Hahaha.
Laughter erupted, this was Bastia's happiness.
Post-Match
Facing reporters, Baup no longer showed the fury from the locker room. He was relatively calm.
"This evening wasn't good enough for Marseille. Victory belongs to Bastia. I have no excuses—they truly were the side more deserving of victory. Julien's performance was excellent. I congratulate him on completing this unique coming-of-age night with such a match."
At this point, Baup even smiled self-deprecatingly. "I'm honored to be part of Julien's milestone. At least in the future, when people remember Julien's 18th birthday hat-trick, they'll think of Marseille, and they'll remember that Marseille's manager was named Baup."
The reporters laughed at Baup's self-deprecating humor.
On the other side...
When reporters tried to "lead" Hadzibegić into saying Bastia would win the championship...
Hadzibegić wasn't falling for it at all.
"We won tonight, and I'm very happy. But the league is still long. The past three consecutive defeats will constantly remind us that Bastia is a newly promoted team!"
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